Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) on Friday reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at Rs 253 crore in Q4 FY21 against Rs 167 crore in Q4 FY20.
It posted a net loss of Rs 196 crore in the quarter ended March against a net loss of Rs 147 crore in the year-ago period.
The revenue was flat at Rs 1,822 crore in Q4 FY21 as compared to Rs 1,832 crore in Q4 FY20 due to Covid-19 induced lockdowns and restrictions in movements.
The company said Q4 continued with a strong recovery trend until the disruption due to second wave of Covid-19 led to localised shutdowns.
Good sales in smaller towns and cities, best-ever e-commerce growth across brands and resilient product strategy were drivers of the recovery.
In FY21, ABFRL launched more than 400 new stores across businesses and formats amd rationalised the network. It scaled up across town classes through asset light model and focused on new product categories in line with changing consumer preferences for more casual and active wear.
Significantly, the company rationalised over Rs 1,200 crore of costs during the year to mitigate the impact of Covid on profitability.
Besides, it reduced the debt from Rs 2,511 crore to Rs 654 crore through a mix of operating cash flows and equity infusion.
The company has a network of 3,212 stores across 31,000 multi-brand outlets with 6,835 points of sale in department stores across India.
It has a repertoire of market-leading brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England established for over 25 years. Pantaloons is one of India's largest value retail brand.
